I was fired up this week after last weekend, so I managed to get an hour off work Tuesday and set off for another session, but the best laid plans often go wrong; the forecast was overcast and warm but the sky cleared before I arrived to a clear cloudless blue, and the temperature fell. I had two rods out soon after 4pm, but it was pretty slow; one flounder early on, then an occasional coalfish, but no sign of a cod, and the fish that were around were clearly feeding very tentatively, for every fish I caught I had two or three small nibbles that developed into nothing. About 8pm I packed up, I didnt blank; catching 5 coalies and a flounder, but it was hard to believe that this was the same spot that yielded so many fish just two days earlier.
I got a fishing pass for the weekend, I took my wife to the airport at 7am Saturday as she was going to Edinburgh for the weekend, and then worked out a plan of attack. The weather was poor Saturday morning, but the forecast said that it should clear up by early afternoon, so I got some bait out to defrost and gave the tackle a once over. I hoped that it would stay cloudy but the forecasts were split on that one so I would just have to wait and see.
I set off at 4pm, in sunshine with a clear sky, which isnt ideal, and a moderate wind from the south, but I had nothing better to do, and there are no unbreakable rules in fishing; with a bait in the water you always have a chance. I decided to try a different mark after Tuesdays trip same area just a few hundred yards away, a good spot that hadnt produced any cod yet this year, but was good last winter. I decided to fish three rods, two with normal squid and mackerel baits on two hook dvice rigs, and a big bait close in on the third rod just in case a biggie came nosing around.
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The sky remained stubbornly clear, and there was nothing happening, absolutely Zero, not a nibble; after an hour I began to wonder if I should move elsewhere, hardly a knock to mention by now it was dark, with just Venus and the stars twinkling from the sky, but still nothing was showing any interest. I decided that if I had nothing by 6pm I would pack up, walk back to the car and move to another spot but I wasnt hopeful with the sky so clear. Just before 6pm I slipped over on the slippery mud, so I decided to move along the bank and wade in to wash off my waders before I started winding in.
On the way back as I approached the rod rest I could see that one of the rods was nearly horizontal; something big was heading out to sea and trying to take the rod with it; I sprinted back and grabbed the rod and the fish tore off, taking at least 15yds of line against a stiff clutch, I usually leave the clutch loose and the ratchet on, but with so little action I hadnt this time, and I was lucky not to loose an expensive outfit!
The fish fought well, especially when it got close to the shore; several times it took off again when I though I had a chance to land it, and it must have taken a good ten minutes to finally grab hold of it, even when I finally got the tail, it was so strong that I couldnt hang on with one hand and it shot off again, but finally I got a hand on the tail and one under the belly and lifted it out it was a cracking fish, not as fat as the fish I caught last Sunday, but longer and in much better overall condition beautifully spotted and well fed.:clap:
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I laid it down whilst I got the camera set up and the scales out; the fish had taken a mackerel and squid cocktail, and was nicely hooked in the corner of the mouth on a 2/0 Owner Mutu light circle; the hook was right in up to the eye but was partially straightened after the terrific fight she had put up, and it was struggle to get it back out. I put the fish on the scales and couldnt believe it another 17 pounder two ounces heavier than last weeks fish at 17lb 14 ounces a completely different fish, different markings and different shape, but almost an identical weight and another new PB :thumbs:, what are the odds of that?
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I took a few quick pictures and then hopped into the water and put her back, I held the tail for a while until she was strong enough to pull away from a firm grip, then watched her swim away on the surface with my headlamp until she was out of sight, another cracker on a night that hadnt seemed very promising, brilliant, you cant complain if you have only had one bite after two hours and its a fish like that!
After that I sat down for while to calm down, then baited up and carried on fishing, in a bit of a dream to be honest; I was not really bothered if anything else came along, but ten minutes later the rod rattled and I caught the first coalfish of the night.
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The sky remained clear, and action was very slow, but I carried on for another three and a half hours. No more cod came visiting, but I managed four coalfish, a double shot flounder and coalie on the last cast, and then went home to watch the FA cup highlights, well pleased with the evenings sport.
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I was hoping that it would be fishable tonight, but an easterly gale is rattling the windows and the rain is tipping down; if it eases a bit later I might try and squeeze a couple of hours in, but there's work tommorow so later in the week is looking more promising; the big push of water that came in last week with the big tides, southerly gales and very low pressure seems to have bought an influx of decent fish, and I want to catch a few more whilst my luck is in and before the spawning starts.
I got a fishing pass for the weekend, I took my wife to the airport at 7am Saturday as she was going to Edinburgh for the weekend, and then worked out a plan of attack. The weather was poor Saturday morning, but the forecast said that it should clear up by early afternoon, so I got some bait out to defrost and gave the tackle a once over. I hoped that it would stay cloudy but the forecasts were split on that one so I would just have to wait and see.
I set off at 4pm, in sunshine with a clear sky, which isnt ideal, and a moderate wind from the south, but I had nothing better to do, and there are no unbreakable rules in fishing; with a bait in the water you always have a chance. I decided to try a different mark after Tuesdays trip same area just a few hundred yards away, a good spot that hadnt produced any cod yet this year, but was good last winter. I decided to fish three rods, two with normal squid and mackerel baits on two hook dvice rigs, and a big bait close in on the third rod just in case a biggie came nosing around.
The sky remained stubbornly clear, and there was nothing happening, absolutely Zero, not a nibble; after an hour I began to wonder if I should move elsewhere, hardly a knock to mention by now it was dark, with just Venus and the stars twinkling from the sky, but still nothing was showing any interest. I decided that if I had nothing by 6pm I would pack up, walk back to the car and move to another spot but I wasnt hopeful with the sky so clear. Just before 6pm I slipped over on the slippery mud, so I decided to move along the bank and wade in to wash off my waders before I started winding in.
On the way back as I approached the rod rest I could see that one of the rods was nearly horizontal; something big was heading out to sea and trying to take the rod with it; I sprinted back and grabbed the rod and the fish tore off, taking at least 15yds of line against a stiff clutch, I usually leave the clutch loose and the ratchet on, but with so little action I hadnt this time, and I was lucky not to loose an expensive outfit!
The fish fought well, especially when it got close to the shore; several times it took off again when I though I had a chance to land it, and it must have taken a good ten minutes to finally grab hold of it, even when I finally got the tail, it was so strong that I couldnt hang on with one hand and it shot off again, but finally I got a hand on the tail and one under the belly and lifted it out it was a cracking fish, not as fat as the fish I caught last Sunday, but longer and in much better overall condition beautifully spotted and well fed.:clap:
I laid it down whilst I got the camera set up and the scales out; the fish had taken a mackerel and squid cocktail, and was nicely hooked in the corner of the mouth on a 2/0 Owner Mutu light circle; the hook was right in up to the eye but was partially straightened after the terrific fight she had put up, and it was struggle to get it back out. I put the fish on the scales and couldnt believe it another 17 pounder two ounces heavier than last weeks fish at 17lb 14 ounces a completely different fish, different markings and different shape, but almost an identical weight and another new PB :thumbs:, what are the odds of that?
I took a few quick pictures and then hopped into the water and put her back, I held the tail for a while until she was strong enough to pull away from a firm grip, then watched her swim away on the surface with my headlamp until she was out of sight, another cracker on a night that hadnt seemed very promising, brilliant, you cant complain if you have only had one bite after two hours and its a fish like that!
After that I sat down for while to calm down, then baited up and carried on fishing, in a bit of a dream to be honest; I was not really bothered if anything else came along, but ten minutes later the rod rattled and I caught the first coalfish of the night.
The sky remained clear, and action was very slow, but I carried on for another three and a half hours. No more cod came visiting, but I managed four coalfish, a double shot flounder and coalie on the last cast, and then went home to watch the FA cup highlights, well pleased with the evenings sport.
I was hoping that it would be fishable tonight, but an easterly gale is rattling the windows and the rain is tipping down; if it eases a bit later I might try and squeeze a couple of hours in, but there's work tommorow so later in the week is looking more promising; the big push of water that came in last week with the big tides, southerly gales and very low pressure seems to have bought an influx of decent fish, and I want to catch a few more whilst my luck is in and before the spawning starts.
